By default, Minecraft servers only accept players with a premium (Mojang/Microsoft-verified) account. If someone in your group plays through TLauncher or another non-premium launcher, you can open your Tick Hosting server up to them too, with one important security step alongside it.
Step 1: stop your server
Changes to server.properties should always be made while the server is fully stopped, to avoid the file getting overwritten mid-edit.
Step 2: disable online-mode
Open server.properties through your File Manager, find:
online-mode=true
and change it to:
online-mode=false
Save, then start your server back up. This single setting is what allows non-premium accounts to connect at all.
Step 3: install an authentication plugin immediately
This step is not optional. With online-mode=false, Minecraft's own identity verification is disabled, which means literally anyone can join using any username, including impersonating your own admin account or another player's name. An authentication plugin closes this gap by requiring a login/register step before a player can do anything.
AuthMe Reloaded is the most widely used option and the one we'd recommend starting with, it is solid, well maintained, and simple to configure. LoginSecurity is a lighter alternative if you want something more minimal. See our guide to installing plugins for the general process of adding either one.
Optional: add a whitelist too
For tighter control over exactly who can join at all, on top of authentication:
/whitelist on
/whitelist add PlayerName
What to tell your TLauncher players
Once set up, share this with anyone joining via TLauncher: open TLauncher, select the TLauncher account type (not Premium), pick any username, launch with the same Minecraft version as the server, then go to Multiplayer → Add Server and enter your server's address as normal.
Common issues
"Failed to verify username" almost always means online-mode did not actually save as false, or the server was not fully restarted after the change. Premium players suddenly can't join is usually not a real problem, once online-mode is false, premium and non-premium players connect the same way, an authentication plugin like AuthMe handles both cleanly.
Worth remembering
Offline mode does trade away Mojang's built-in identity verification, and player UUIDs will differ from online-mode UUIDs, which can affect some plugins that key data by UUID. For a small, trusted group this tradeoff is usually a non-issue as long as an auth plugin is in place. Full details live in our help center, and Discord is there if you get stuck on the setup.